Aug. 25, 2026

Are Harry and Meghan Moving Back to Britain Because They Need Money?

Show Notes
Transcript

Are financial pressures behind Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to the UK? How much money did the Sussexes actually receive from Netflix? Could Harry face a multimillion-dollar legal bill—and is Meghan returning to acting for a new British production?

Page Six reports that Harry and Meghan are not broke, but their Montecito mortgages, private security, household staff and properties in California and Portugal create enormous expenses. Meanwhile, sources around Prince William reportedly suspect that money, inheritance and proximity to King Charles III may all be part of the calculation.

We examine Tina Brown’s claim that Meghan has landed a new role, whether Harry is trying to return before William becomes King, and Robert Jobson’s theory that Megxit is becoming “Regrexit.” Plus: Must Harry publicly apologize to William? Could the Sussexes spend Christmas with the Royal Family? And does Doria Ragland’s decision to remain in California mean Harry is bringing Archie and Lilibet back to Britain primarily to reconnect with the Spencers?

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Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

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Ah Calorogus, Shark Media now lo and welcome through Palace

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Intry EGA. I'm your host, Mark Francis. Page six is

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reporting that money may be one factor behind Prince Harry

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and Meghan Markel's decision to move back to Britain. The

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outlet sites sources who say these Sussexes are not broke,

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but that their expenses are so high that cash flow

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has become a real concern. One insider told page six,

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I'm sure there are a lot of reasons for the move,

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but I think cash is a big one. Another source

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pushed back on any suggestion that Harry and Meghan are

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out of money, saying they had more money than most

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even before mexit. According to page six, Harry and Meghan

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are carrying two mortgages on their Montecito home, paying for

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household staff, maintaining a vacation property in Portugal, and spending

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heavily on security, estimating private security costs are three million

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dollars a year. Page six also reports that the Sussexes

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have significantly reduced their staffing levels. The couple are now

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said to have four full time employees aside from their

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communications staff, compared with what the outlet says was once

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a team of roughly seventeen or eighteen. Meghan is described

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in the report as the primary income generator. At the moment,

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a source said her as ever, brand is doing well,

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although public sales figures are not available. The page six

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reports says some of the eye catching headline numbers attached

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to those deals may have overstated how much actually went

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directly to the couple. Their Netflix agreement was widely reported

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as being worth one hundred million dollars. Sources close to

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the deal now tell Page six it was closer to

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sixty million, with much of that money covering production costs

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and overhead rather than personal income. The outlet also reports

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that the original Netflix arrangement was heavily dependent on the

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Harry and Meghan document entry series. Harry also remains listed

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as chief Impact Officer at Better Up. His salary has

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been rumored to be around one million dollars a year,

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although that figure has not been publicly confirmed. The biggest

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immediate financial uncertainty may be Harry's legal bill. He recently

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lost his privacy case against Associated Newspapers, alongside other claimants

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including Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley. Associated Newspapers has sought

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as much as thirty four point five million pounds in

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legal costs from the claimants collectively. Page six says Harry

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could be personally liable for roughly two point six million.

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One Hollywood source asked, once the illegal bill is handed down,

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do they get to keep the Montecito House. Another theory

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comes from royal commentator Kinsey Schofield, who told Page six

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that people around William believe money and inheritance are part

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of the calculation. Schofield said there is a suspicion within

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Prince William's orbit that Harry and Meghan understand the clock

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is ticking and want to re establish their position, influence

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and proximity to the monarchy while Charles is still king.

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Her argument is that William will eventually have far more

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control over the shape of the monarchy than he does now.

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Chofield said, there is a belief that William will be

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much less accommodating. My sources believe Harry knows that. They

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say this is an attempt to get a footback in

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the door before William is the one deciding how firmly

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that door is closed. They have not forgotten the escalation

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in threats and online harassment directed at the Waleses after

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the Oprah interview, and they fear another cycle of accusations,

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leaks or interviews could inflame that hostility again. In the

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opinion of My Palace source, Harry and Meghan are loose cannons.

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Schofield also questioned the idea that the move is mainly

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about King Charles health. She said, their question is where

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was that sensitivity when Prince Philip was in hospital and

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Harry and Meghan were preparing to broadcast their grievances to Oprah?

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Where was it while they were filming their Netflix documentary.

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During Queen Elizabeth the Id's final months on her substack,

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Tina brownwrit's I can confirm Megan has a job. The

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identity of the show is not yet clear, but it

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allows Harry at least to get her buy in for

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his growing desire to get the hell out of Paradise

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and go home to the world he understands. For the

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last few years when he was not engaged as an

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enthusiastic parent to Archie and Lilibet, the once tiggerish Harry

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has been moping around their nine bedroom, sixteen bathroom Montecito mansion,

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suing tabloids and instructing staff not to share any negative

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press with Meghan. But then an ex staff had told

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me a friend or somebody in the kitchen will be like,

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oh man, I'm so sorry today, that's so mean, and

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she's like, what happened? And then it's an effing tornado.

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She can't get out of bed. Their California funk wasn't

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just a failure to escape the hounds of hell from

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the tabloid press who covered them every day as if

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they'd never left England. Tension around money was ratcheting up,

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as projects with Netflix and Spotify were either minimally renewed

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or bit the dust entirely, and then catastrophe. After two

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victories against the press and his phone hacking lawsuits, Harry

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lost a big time in his privacy case against The

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Daily Mail and is now on the hook with six

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other defendants. It was always the best option for Meghan

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to return to acting, something she was genuinely good at,

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until she threw it in to Mary Harry in twenty

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twenty three, when replays of her old hit cable show

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Suits were inexplicably all the rage on Netflix. It would

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have been a legitimate pop culture sensation and a major

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payday if she had let her agent's picture for a reboot.

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But no, Duchesses don't do ensembles. Meghan believes she could

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pull off some kind of mannic, multi hyphenite mishmash of

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entertainment enterprises in between accompanying her husband on Erstart's Royal

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tours to promote random global uplift. As Martha Stewart noted,

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if you're an actress, it's hard to then transition to

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a princess, and then from a princess into a homemaking

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guru on a television show. It doesn't sort of follow.

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Last month, Megan appeared on Mastershef Australia as a surprise

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celebrity judge, and I'm told it was a tonic to

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her mood. She finally realized how much easier and more

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fun it is to perform in a hit baked by

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someone else. She was back on market, and it did

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not take long for Hollywood's megadeal machine wme the talent

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agency that still represents her to get her a role

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more palacing just a moment. Speaking on the Royals, Uncensored,

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Royal biographer Robert Jobson argued that Harry and Meghan was

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creating precisely the kind of commercial operation the late Queen

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rejected when she ruled out there proposed half in half

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out arrangement. Johnson said the monarchy is not simply a

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collection of personal brands. It is a national institution with

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a constitutional role. In his view, the Sussexes are attempting

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to control both the story and the way information about

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their return reaches the media. He accused the couple of

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effectively holding a gun to the King's head and warned

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that William could eventually face the same pressure. Jobson said

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William will therefore have to take a pragmatic view. The

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question for the Prince of Wales is not merely how

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he feels about his brother, but how Harry's return affects

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the monarchy. William will one day lead in an interview

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with the Express jobs and argue that Harry must apologize

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to William before any meaningful reconciliation can take place. He

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also coined a new term for Harry's return, regrets it.

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Jobson's theory is that Harry ultimately wants to find a

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way back into the royal fault because official status could

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bring greater security, financial stability and institutional relevance. He believes

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Harry understands that King Charles may be more receptive to

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such an arrangement than William would be once he becomes King.

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That jobs and says explain to the urgency. Harry knows

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his father is ill, he knows his opportunity to negotiate

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some form of reproachment may be limited, and he may

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suspect that the door will close considerably more firmly under

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King William. Christmas could provide the first real test. If Harry, Megan, Archie,

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and Lilibert are living in Britain, will they be invited

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to spend Christmas with a royal family? Could King Charles

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use Sandringham to present an image of family unity, And

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if the King wants his sons together, would William feel

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obliged to cooperate. A graceful solution for all might be

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to spend the holidays in California. TMZ reports that Meghan's mother,

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Doria Ragland, will remain in California rather than uproot her life.

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The sixty nine year old has her own friends, activities,

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and connections on the West Coast, including her involvement in

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the local yogurt community. This also means Harry and Meghan's

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return will create a new geographical complication for the family.

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Doria has been one of the Sussex's most dependable sources

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of support. She traveled to Britain around the time of

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Archie's birth in twenty nineteen and helped the couple after

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Lillabet was born in California in twenty twenty one. She

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has also appeared with Harry and Meghan at a number

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of family and public events, and that raises another tactical

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question about the move. Is Harry bringing his children closer

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not so much to King Charles, but to the Spencer family.

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And there you have it. If you'd like to email

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Are Harry and Meghan Moving Back to Britain Because They Need Money?

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